Tonight hundreds of people gathered to watch the selection of the 38th Miss Korea Washington. It was held at the Nova College Cultural Center in Annandale, VA.
There were 8 contestants trying to win top prize. The pageant included evening gown & swimsuit sections, and a talent exhibition. There also was an interview of each of the contestants.
The photos below tell the story, while later this weekend the names will be added. … Read entire article »

The Korean “Susan Boyle”? Here is Choi Sung-Bong singing on Korea’s Got Talent. His story is amazing… sad, and inspiring.
The video is sub-titled in Korean. After the singing is the judge’s review, and more about his life.
… Read entire article »

This week the show Kimchi Chronicles kicked off on PBS, on a New York station. Later in the year it will be shown nationwide.
The food shown in the show looks extra delicious, due to the high production values. The 13-part series is hosted by Marja Vongerichten, who is also working on a cookbook. You can read more about the show here (NY Times).
Take a look! The first preview clip below is likely to make … Read entire article »

July 21st, 2010 | Comments Off on Kalbi & Bulgogi – are they the same?

Sometimes people ask what is the difference between the Korean beef bar-b-q dishes: kalbi / galbi (갈비) and the more popular bulgogi (불고기).
Before answering that question, first note that there are difference styles of both kalbi and bul-go-gi, and sometimes kalbi is not seasoned at all (which makes it, well, plain barbeque beef). Then it’s the side dishes – pan chan – that make it distinctly Korean. Panchan will be different from restaurant to restaurant, more than they will vary from dish-to-dish within a restaurant.
Bulgogi is beef, usually loin, and kalbi is beef short ribs. Both can be made marinaded, in similar sauces. And a side sauce can be served with both. However, the side dishes (panchan) – things such as potato, or seaweed, and kimchi – are not related … Read entire article »

The language of Koreans is called hanguk mal.
More from Wikipedia:
Korean (한국어/조선말, see below) is the official language of Korea, both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century a national writing system was commissioned by Sejong the Great, the system being currently called Hangul. Prior to the development of Hangul, Koreans used Hanja (Chinese characters) to write for over a millennium.
The genealogical classification of the Korean language is debated by a small number of linguists. Most classify it as a language isolate[2] while a few consider it to be in the Altaic language family.[3] Some believe it to be distantly related to Japanese-Ryukyuan. The Korean language … Read entire article »

In Korean it’s say hay boke mani padusayo. Happy New Year!
Read more below (from Wikipedia):
Lunar New Year refers to the beginning of the year in several calendars. It is commonly assumed that they are all based on a lunar calendar, although some are actually based on a lunisolar calendar.
These new year celebrations sometimes fall on or near the same day of the Gregorian year:
* Chinese New Year
* Japanese New Year (before 1873)
* Korean New Year (Seollal)
* Tết, Vietnamese New Year
* Losar, Tibetan New Year
* Tsagaan Sar, Mongolian lunisolar new year
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called “Lunar New Year”, because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first … Read entire article »

The KoreanWaves.com website provides a place to learn, engage others, and see what events are happening related to Korean culture, language, food, sports, music, film, and more.
This is our first practice quiz, and it may be one of the fastest Korean quizzes out there!
1. How fast can you speak Korean?
What’s Korean?
Slowly
A little bit faster than slow
Almost too quickly to be understood
2. If you were asked what is kamsahamnida, you would say…?
I’ve never been to that country
oh, thanks
thanks – formal
… Read entire article »

Fun Korean Waves ™ Culture Language ESL Music Food, DC VA MD 언어 교환 연습을 할래요. Pizza will be Provided!! Let’s meet on the second floor to practice language exchange. We will have a mentor helping us with Korean conversation....Bring phrases you want to learn in Korean The meetup will be in an office so […]

Fun Korean Waves ™ Culture Language ESL Music Food, DC VA MD Happy Holidays! 메리 크리스마스! Joint meetup with Asian Dining out Meetup. Expecting total of 40. Get together in the holiday spirit to celebrate the season, the year, and more... Asian Dining Out and Activities Meetup will be joining us for this event. • […]